Actually I understand from reading local news reports that the liquor license app for the new "Asphalt Jungle" on Avenue B was recently denied. So the PKNY crew is in (hopefully temporary) limbo, but the owner still seems committed to moving forward and finding a new location.
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I enjoyed several visits to PKNY and Val's great service and hospitality. He even remembered me from my infrequent prior visits (I live on the west coast), maybe because we were the only people in Manhattan who wear Tropical shirts! I treasure my PKNY tee shirt and look forward to visiting his next bar.

If it is still on-line be sure to download the extensive PKNY cocktail menu.

I think for maximum authenticity, you need to shake in a Mai Tai glass with a Boston shaker tin on top and then pour unstrained back into the Mai Tai glass, top with more ice, garnish, and voila!

I haven't watched the video yet, but I would say another important secret to a most excellent Mai Tai is using a short straw so that when you take a sip your nose is right in that fresh mint garnish. A big part of the sensory experience of the drink for me.
_________________"If you keep on drinking rum, the world will soon be quit of a very dirty scoundrel."
Robert Louis Stevenson

I was privileged to apprentice under Val (as was Gina) for a few months during the last few months at PKNY. All aspects of drink-making there are on a perfectionist level. Val's approach to shaking a Mai Tai works the best that I have experienced. Mai Tais are a dry shake. Glasses are kept chilled until the pour is ready. The glass is packed with crushed ice. The pour is made. More ice is packed on top. An over-proof float is poured on top (not sure if that was in the video?) Garnishes are added. Powdered sugar is sprinkled on the mint. The glass is grasped at the very bottom edge to minimize warming and fingerprints and presented to the customer. This approach maximizes chilling and minimizes dilution.

I "third" the short straw comment. I keep several lengths of straws in my bar, and long ago stumbled upon the need for short straws for drinks served in old-fashioned and double-old-fashioned glasses. My long straws are needed for tall tiki mugs and other tall glassware. Some of my short straws are used for Painkillers served in skull drinking glasses a friend bought for me at Spencer's at the mall.

People sell drinking straws in many colors on eBay. Some I cut down to shorter lengths as needed. My long specialty straws for Volcano and Scorpion bowls generally come from the bar supply web sites. I did, a few years ago, accidentally order a jumbo pack of the super-long bendy straws used by folks with medical conditions. I can't get myself to throw them out, figure I'll just have to make some bowl drinks...

Sorry for the thread detour. Two consecutive comments on straws just somehow drew me in to share my findings...

I'm sorry . . . but to me, the "perfect" Mai Tai is Vic's original recipe which he was kind enough to openly share with the rest of the world. The only modern variation - the rums you use . . . at the original rum Vic used hasn't been available for decades.
Just MHO.